Louis J.
Gallagher A Quick Guide to MLA Style1
“A citation in MLA style contains only enough information to enable readers to find the source in the [bibliography]” 2
In-text Citations
For the reader’s convenience, you can include the name of the book in your text:
eg. Barthes, in A Lover’s Discourse, suggests that every lover is mad, but we can never imagine a
madman in love (121).3
Or you can simply put down the name of the author and the page number after the quote.
eg. What happen to a man in love? “[T]he lover […] is always implicitly feminized” (Barthes 189).4
If you have mentioned the author, simply put down the page number in the brackets: “(66).”
eg. Barthes writes, “one is always jealous of two persons at once: I am jealous of the one I love and
of the one who loves the one I love” (66).
If there are more than one work by the same author, give the shortened version of the title in the brackets
as well.
e.g. Freud argues that the aim of all life is death (Freud, Beyond 46) 5
Documenting Sources in the Bibliography:
Book:
Author (surname first). Book title. Editor (first name first). Translator (first name first). Publication
information.
Deleuze, Gilles, and Felix Guattari.6 Kafka: Towards a Minor Literature. Trans. Dana Polan.
Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1986.
An Article in a Book:
Author. “Article title.” Book title. Editor. Translator. Publication information. Page number.
e.g. for more than 1 sources by the same author:
Freud, Sigmund. Beyond the Pleasure Principle.7 1920.8 Trans. James Strachey. Ed. Angela Richards.
New York: Norton, 1989.
---. “The Uncanny.” 1919. Penguin Freud 14: Art and Literature. Trans. James Strachey et al.9 Ed. Albert
Dickson. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1990. 335-376.
An Article in a Journal:
Author. “Article title.” Journal title issue/volume number (year): page number.
Most, Andrea. ““We Know We Belong to the Land.” Journal of Literature 113 (1998): 77-89.
1
This quick guide is meant for giving you an idea of what MLA style is. For details, you should still see Joseph Gibaldi,
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 5th ed. (New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1999).
For online reference, visit A Writer’s Practical Guide to MLA Documentation, at
<[Link]
2
Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook 115. Square brackets are used when you want to alter the word(s) in a quote.
3
Italics can be replaced by underline. See Gibaldi 58 for details.
4
“[…]” is used when you want to omit word(s) in a quote. But always keep the remaining quote in a complete sentence.
5
The shorten version of Beyond the Pleasure Principle is used.
6
It means the book is co-written by Gilles Deleuze and Felex Guattari.
7
Note the capitalization of the title. The article “the” is not capitalized.
8
In 1920 the work is first published. This item is optional.
9
“et al.” means “and others.” You can, instead, include all the translators separating with commas.
Film/Video Recording:
Title. Director. Performer. Original release date. Medium. Distributor, year.
It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and
Thomas Mitchell. 1946. DVD. Republic, 1998.
A Musical Composition (opera, ballet, or instrumental music):
Composer. Title. Work created date (if needed). Publication information.
Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony No. 8 in F, Op. 93. 1812. New York: Dover, 1989.
A Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph
Artist. Title. Work created date (if needed). Institution that houses the work, city.
Egg, Augustus. Past and Present. 1858. Tate Gallery, London.
An Online Book within a Scholarly Project:
Author. Title. Publication information of the printed source. Project title. Editor. Electronic publication
information.10 Sponsoring institution. Access date <network address>.
Nesbit, Edith. Ballads and Lyrics of Socialism. London: Fabian, 1908. Victorian Women Writers Project.
Ed. Perry Willett. June 1998. Indiana U. 19 Sep. 2002 <[Link]
nesbit/[Link]>.
An Article in an Online Periodical:
Author. “Article title.” Periodical title volume/issue number (year): page number. Access date <network
address>.
Patke, Rajeev S. “Benjamin’s Arcades Project and the Postcolonial City.” Diacritics 30.4 (2000): 3-13. 20
Sep. 2002 <http:// [Link]/journals/diacritics/v030/[Link]>.
An Article in an Online Information Database:
Author. “Article title.” Database title. Editor. Electronic publication information. Sponsoring institution.
Access date <network address>.
“Game Theory.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Vers. 99.1. 2000. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 22 Sep.
2002 <[Link]
Documenting Sources in Footnotes/Endnotes as System Other Than MLA Style:
The footnotes/endnotes style suggested in the MLA handbook as system other than MLA style:
note number Author (first name first), “Article title,” Book title, translator, editor (Publication information) page
number.
15
Sigmund Freud, “The Uncanny,” Penguin Freud 14: Art and Literature, trans. James Strachey et
al, ed. Angela Richards (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1990) 335-376.
10
Skip this item for an online book available independently.
